Children and Contact Lenses

There is no fixed age at which a child is old enough to wear contact lenses. It will depend on their maturity and should be decided in discussion with the young person, parent and their optician. We are happy to explore the option of contact lenses for young people from around the age of eleven, in agreement with the parent or guardian.

Contact lenses can be a great alternative to glasses and offer many benefits:

Freedom to take part in sports in which glasses might be a hazard, improving their performance

Reducing the risk of being teased because they wear glasses

Boosting confidence and self-esteem. Recent research [1] found that children’s self perception of their physical appearance, social acceptance and athletic competence all improved with contact lens wear

Some young people prefer their appearance without glasses

It should be noted that should a child go into contact lenses, they will probably cost significantly more than a pair of glasses over the period of a year.